Western National Trails- Seaman Jr.

I am so excited to learn more about the National Trails System! The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail is one of 30 National Scenic and Historic Trails, and since the whole system is turning 50 this year, I wanted to learn more about all the trails! I had an opportunity to visit six historic trails in the west- Some of them even cross paths with the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

First I visited the Santa Fe National Historic Trail, which crosses five states and traces a pioneer trade route from Franklin, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico. From the 1820s to the 1880s, this trail was the primary route for traders from the United States and Mexico, and it was also used by gold seekers, missionaries, emigrants, and adventurers like me!

Speaking of gold seekers, my next stop was the California National Historic Trail. This trail is over 5,000 miles long, covers portions of 10 states, and follows in the footsteps of over 250,000 emigrants who traveled to the gold fields and rich farmlands of California during the 1840s and 1850s: the greatest mass migration in American history. My favorite part was the wagon wheel ruts that you can still see today along many parts of the trail!

Next I visited the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail . This 1,300 mile trail traces the route of Mormons who headed west in search of a new beginning in 1846. It begins in Nauvoo, Illinois and ends in Salt Lake City, Utah. The trail shares much of its path with the Oregon National Historic Trail, which was the next trail I got to visit!

The Oregon Trail was exciting. I pretended I was an emigrant, headed from Missouri to Oregon in search of farmland and a fresh start. I got to see more remnants of the trail ruts left by the thousands of emigrants whose wagon trains passed this way in the mid-nineteenth century.

Next I headed to Wallowa Lake, Oregon to visit the Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail. This trail traces the flight of the Nez Perce as they fled their homelands, pursued by the U.S. Army in 1877. Chief Joseph, Chief Looking Glass, Chief White Bird, Chief Ollokot, Chief Lean Elk, and others led nearly 750 Nez Perce men, women, and children and twice that many horses over 1,170 miles through the mountains. To the Nee-Me-Poo, the trail is part of their sacred land, land they still use, and it is important to be respectful when we visit.

The last stop on my journey of the west was the Pony Express National Historic Trail.

In 1860 and 1861, young men rode horses to deliver mail back and forth from Missouri to California in just 10 days each way!

Every year, the National Pony Express Association does a re-ride of the route and I got to ride one of the horses! I had so much fun seeing the trail and meeting the “ponies.”

Traveling in the spirit of a Newfoundland dog that became one of the most famous members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Seaman Jr. will enjoy the sights of our home planet from the International Space Station,including amazing views of our national trails, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the National Trails Actand NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration 60th anniversary.

The National Park Service and Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail invite you to learn more about Seaman, Jr.’s space journey! Follow his blog (go.nps.gov/NewfieNews) for special updates to see all of the missions in space and flashbacks to his training adventures at NASA centers and on the national trails.